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Why Trey Lance Should Start for the 49ers Against the Rams on Sunday

In the biggest game of the season, the 49ers should roll with their star-studded rookie in a must-win game.

Vinny Saglimbeni

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The San Francisco 49ers enter what will be the biggest game of the franchise since its Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs just two years ago.

Coming off a 23-7 victory in the final home game of the regular season against the Houston Texans, the 9-7 49ers will face the Los Angeles Rams in the season finale. The 12-4 Rams will look to clinch the NFC West with a victory on Sunday, whereas the 49ers will be fighting for the final playoff spot in the NFC along with the New Orleans Saints.

In the game against the Texans, the guy that took over the headlines, spotlight and Twitter space conversations was 49ers rookie quarterback Trey Lance. In his second career start as an NFL quarterback, the No. 3 pick from North Dakota State finished the game completing 16 out of 23 passes for 249 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Once Lance hit the field, you could see why Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch in the 49ers traded three first round picks and a third round pick for Lance, as he got more comfortable throughout the game and hit timely throws to his playmakers, orchestrating the offense with his arm talent, mobility and overall ability to make plays.

Lance started in place of Jimmy Garoppolo, who sustained a thumb injury in the 49ers defeat against the Tennessee Titans on the eve of Christmas eve. Garoppolo has played for most of the season, missing only two games thus far, and in the games he’d played, he’s had his fair share of both highs and lows. But ultimately, the 49ers stand in a must-win position this coming Sunday, and Garoppolo has played a part in the 49ers 9-7 record.

Leading up to the Rams game on Sunday, Garoppolo’s availability is still up in the air. Shanahan said after the Texans game that if Garoppolo is 100 percent and ready to go, he would be the starter. However, his thumb injury is a serious one, as NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said that Garoppolo is expected to undergo surgery on it at the end of the season. Garopollo still has a chance to return this week, but with the UCL tear he has, it typically requires more time for recovery. Dr. Nirav Pandaya said that Grade 3 ligament tears such as the one Garoppolo has generally do not fully heal within the following 6 weeks, but the swelling and stiffness of it might decrease, allowing Garoppolo to have a better grip of the ball and throw the ball with more ease.

All of that is to say that Lance should start on Sunday against the Rams.

We won’t ultimately know the decision until it is made by Shanahan. But looking at everything that we have seen over the past few days and weeks, it’s hard to see the true advantages of putting a not-100-percent Garoppolo in the game over a 100-percent-healthy Lance. Garoppolo didn’t practice leading up to the Texans game and, as stated previously, the recovery for an injury similar to what Garoppolo has takes more time to heal. Garoppolo should only play if he absolutely has to, otherwise Garoppolo should be given the proper time to heal.

Also, looking at Lance and what he did this past Sunday, this is a great opportunity for the 49ers to build off that heading into next season, win or lose, as there is the strong possibility and maybe even probability that Lance will be QB 1 in 2022.

Here’s the funny thing— the Rams found themselves in a similar position last season in the playoffs. John Wolford started in their playoff win against the Seahawks because Jared Goff had a thumb injury, but only played when Wolford had to leave the game with his own injury.

Garoppolo isn’t a guy like Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes, where playing either one of those guys not at 100 percent would be worse than starting the backup. Those two guys in particular not at 100 percent are still better than a lot of the QBs today if they were at 100 percent themselves. So risking putting him out there when you have the future of the franchise that needs reps and is coming off a really good game would be an extremely bold statement from Shanahan and the 49ers. 

We won’t know until it is officially is announced, but Lance should start on Sunday against the Rams.

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Vinny Saglimbeni
VINNY SAGLIMBENI

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